An Leas-Chathaoirleach:

Amendments Nos. 22 and 23 and amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 23 are related and may be discussed together by agreement.

An Leas-Chathaoirleach:

Government amendment No. 22:

An Leas-Chathaoirleach:

In page 6, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following paragraph:

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"(c) in the First Schedule (inserted by the Immigration Act 1999), by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph 9:

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'10. (1) Where the Commissioner is for any reason temporarily unable to act as the Commissioner or the office of the Commissioner is vacant, the Minister shall appoint a person to be the Commissioner for the duration of the inability or until an appointment is made in accordance with paragraph 1, as the case, may be, and the person so appointed may perform all the functions conferred on the Commissioner by this Act.

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(2) A person appointed under this paragraph shall hold office upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Minister after consultation with the Minister for Finance.

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11. The Commissioner may, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so in the interest of the fair and efficient discharge of the business of his or her office, determine the order in which different classes of such business shall be discharged having regard to the following matters:

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(a) the grounds of the applications under section 8,

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(b) the country of origin of the applicants,

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(c) any family relationship between applicants,

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(d) the ages of the applicants and, in particular, of persons under the age of 18 years in respect of whom applications are made,

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(e) the dates on which applications were made."'.